The present invention relates to saber saws. Various saber saws have been conventionally developed to cut or saw woody or steel materials or pipes in the housing or building construction sites or similar fields. More specifically, the present invention enhances the strength of the front cover attached to a saber saw housing, and also improves the durability and safety of saber saws.
The saber saw is a sort of cutting power tool with a reciprocative plunger driven by an electric motor. A blade is attached to or detached from a front end of this plunger.
According to a power tool disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,740, an outer surface of the power tool is covered by an insulating cooling boot with parallel ribs spaced each other and formed on the inside wall thereof so as to provide the cooling air passage grooves, thereby improving the heat insulating properties of the power tool.
An object of the present invention is to provide a saber saw with an insulating cover structure capable of enhancing the electrical and thermal insulating properties of the saber saw as well as improving the safety performance during the sawing or cutting operation of the saber saw.
In order to accomplish this and other related objects, the present invention provides a saber saw which comprises a housing in which a motor with a cooling fan is accommodated. A secondary shaft is rotatably supported by the housing and is driven by the motor. A plunger causes a reciprocative motion with respect to the housing. A blade is attached to or detached from a front end of this plunger. A motion converting mechanism is interposed between the secondary shaft and the plunger for converting a rotational motion of the secondary shaft into a reciprocative movement of the plunger. A front cover, made of an electrically and thermally insulating material, covers an outer surface of the housing. And, a resilient member, which is also electrically and thermally insulating, extends along an outer surface of the front cover partly so as to form a front-end grip to be held by a user.
Preferably, the front cover is made of a rigid material sufficiently durable against a force imparted thereon during an operation of the saber saw.
Preferably, a friction coefficient of the resilient member is larger than that of the front cover.
In practice, it is preferable that the front cover is a high-strength plastic and the resilient member is a rubber.
Preferably, the front cover consists of a right half and a left half separated about a vertical plane lying in an axial direction of the saber saw.
Preferably, the housing comprises a motor housing accommodating the motor, an inner cover positioned next to the motor housing for supporting a front end of a motor shaft and a rear end of the secondary shaft, and a gear cover positioned next to the inner cover for accommodating the secondary shaft, the plunger, and the motion converting mechanism.
Preferably, a clearance between the front cover and the gear cover serves as a ventilation space for allowing cooling air to flow therethrough.
Preferably, the resilient member is bonded onto the front cover, or integrally formed with the front cover by injection molding.